Contenders for the 2025 Ottawa Book Awards have been declared by the city
The city of Ottawa is buzzing with excitement as the finalists for the 2025 Ottawa Book Awards have been announced. A total of 14 local authors have been named, spanning three categories: English Fiction, English Non-fiction, and the French-language Prix du livre d'Ottawa.
In the English Non-fiction category, Denise Chong's book, "Out of Darkness: Rumana Monzur's journey through betrayal, tyranny and abuse," is a finalist. Katherine Leyton's "Motherlike" and Misty Pratt's "All In Her Head: How Gender Bias Harms Women's Mental Health" also made the shortlist. Notably, Ian Smillie's "Under Development: A journey without maps" is also a contender.
The English Fiction category sees a diverse range of works. "The Last to the Party," a collection of poems by Chuqiao Yang, is a finalist, as is "Heliotropia" by Manahil Bandukwala, a meditation on love during times of social and political upheaval. "The Voyageur" by Paul Carlucci, a critically acclaimed novel about finding agency in troubled times, and "On Beauty" by rob mclennan, a provocative collection of vignettes, are also in the running.
The French-language category, however, has no publicly available information regarding the number of Ottawa-based authors who applied. The finalists include Claire Méndard-Roussy's "Un lourd prix à payer," Monia Mazigh's "Histoires de racines," Margaret Michèle Cook's "La lumière de minuit," and Emmanuelle Erny's "Charlotte au pays des mots."
The finalists will compete for the top prize, with the winners receiving $7,500, while each finalist will receive $1,000. The official winners will be revealed on Saturday, November 15 at an event hosted by the Ottawa Public Library at Meridian Theatres @ Centrepointe. Last year's awards went to "Vixen" by Sandra Ridley (Fiction), "Agent of Change: My Life Fighting Terrorists, Spies and Institutional Racism" by Huda Mukbil (Non-fiction) and "Deux heures avant la fin de l'été" by Sébastien Pierroz (Priz du livre).
This year's Ottawa Book Awards promises to be a celebration of local talent and a testament to the city's rich literary scene.
